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 But he proved once again Wednesday night why he's the horse in the
Padres rotation as he improved his record to 7-0 with seven solid
innings in the Padres' 7-3 win over the New York Mets at Petco Park.
"Shields might not have had his best fastball tonight," Padres
manager Bud Black said after a second straight win over the Mets
completed a 4-3 homestand for San Diego.
"But he had late life on his pitches and he kept them at bay while
we were building a lead."
While Shields was holding the Mets scoreless on two hits over the
first five innings, the Padres were building a 7-0 lead against Mets
starter Dillon Gee, who was making his first major league start in a
month.
Shields' final line was two runs allowed on six hits and two walks
over seven innings, although he needed a couple of double-play
grounders to get out of his final two innings after the Mets had
scored single runs in the sixth and the seventh.
"That's a team that likes to hack a lot," Shields said of the Mets.
"That's a good hitting team. The three double plays and the offense
were huge tonight."
Shields is one of two pitchers in Padres history to start the season
with a 7-0 record. Andy Hawkins started the 1985 season 11-0.
Offensively, the Padres got three RBIs from third baseman Will
Middlebrooks and two hits apiece from outfielders Venable, Justin
Upton and Matt Kemp.
Middlebrooks capped a two-run first against Gee with a sacrifice fly
then added a two-run single in the fifth to make it 7-0. Center
fielder Venable had a two-run single in the fourth.
Gee struggled and didn't get much help from his teammates as he fell
to 0-3. Gee had been on the disabled list since May 9 (retroactive
to May 4) with a mild right groin strain. He allowed seven runs
(four earned) on eight hits and a walk in four-plus innings.
"We didn't make some plays behind Dillon and get him out of
trouble," said Mets manager Terry Collins. "He's around the plate
and they're going to put the ball in play. You have to catch the
baseball when he pitches. If we made a couple plays behind him, I
don't think the outcome is the same."
"I didn't feel terrible tonight, but the end results was it wasn't
great," said Gee. "I didn't have a very good night. I thought I
threw like I normally throw, but they squared up a lot of balls. And
the ones they didn't square up still fell in."
The Padres scored two unearned runs in the first then added two in
the fourth and three in the fifth to lead 7-0 when Gee departed.
The trouble started with one out in the first when Mets third
baseman Ruben Tejada couldn't handle the grounder hit by Padres
catcher Derek Norris for the first of his two errors.
Gee then walked left fielder Upton ahead of a bases-loading single
by Kemp. Gee forced in the game's first run by hitting first baseman
Yonder Alonso with a pitch. Upton scored on Middlebrooks' sacrifice
fly to center.
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The Padres doubled their lead in the fourth. Second baseman Cory
Spangenberg and shortstop Alexi Amarista opened the inning with
back-to-back, line-drive singles to center. Shields sacrificed them
to third and second, respectively, and Venable drove them both home
with a line-drive single to right over a drawn-in infield.
Upton and Kemp opened the fifth with back-to-back singles putting
runners at the corners. Alonso grounded back to Gee, who threw
wildly to the plate for an error in an attempt to keep Upton from
scoring. Middlebrooks followed with a two-run single.
Meanwhile, Shields retired 11 straight Mets starting with a
second-inning fly to Kemp that resulted in a double play.
Mets left fielder Darrell Ceciliani doubled to lead off the Mets
second. But he tried to tag and advance to third on center fielder
Juan Lagares' fly to Kemp in right. Kemp threw a strike to
Middlebrooks, who made a snap tag while blocking Ceciliani's path to
the bag.
The Mets got on the board in the top of the sixth on Tejada's RBI
double into the left-field corner, scoring right fielder Curtis
Granderson from first. An RBI single by catcher Anthony Recker made
it 7-2 in the seventh. The Mets had two runners on and one out in
both innings when double-play grounders ended the threats.
The Mets made it really interesting in the ninth against struggling
Padres closer Craig Kimbrel.
A two-out error by Middlebrooks led to an RBI double by pinch-hitter
Kevin Plawecki. A walk and a single by Tejada leaded the bases with
first baseman coming to the plate representing the tying run. But
Kimbrel retired Duda on a grounder to second to end the game.
NOTES: The Mets optioned INF Danny Muno to Triple-A Las Vegas in
order to activate Gee from the disabled list. OF Michael Cuddyer was
a late scratch from Wednesday's lineup with a stiff neck. RHP Vic
Black (right shoulder tendinitis) was moved from Double-A Binghamton
to Triple-A Las Vegas to continue his rehab assignment. C Travis
d'Arnaud (fracture of the metacarpal bone in his right little
finger) has been assigned to re-start his rehab assignment. INF
Dilson Herrera (fractured tip of his right middle finger) will
started his rehab assignment Thursday. ... Padres CF-1B Wil Myers
(left wrist tendinitis) took batting practice on the field Wednesday
and could start a rehab assignment before the Padres return home
from a seven-game road trip June 11. RHP Brandon Morrow will make a
second rehab start with Double-A San Antonio Sunday.
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